The important point to keep in mind is that DIY estate planning provides forms and not legal advice. An attorney may provide you insights into your situation and prepare documents that are specifically tailored to your circumstances and needs, potentially saving your loved ones expense and frustration. Before embarking on…
Moving to New York to avoid state death taxes? “When your bordering state is telling you, ‘Come on over!’ the pitch is compelling,” McManus says. “If New York has a more welcoming tax scheme, then people will say, ‘Let’s call me a New York resident.’” McManus says that he and…
Even though many gifts no longer make tax sense, 529 plans remain viable options for both estate tax exclusion and income tax reduction, without much complexity and cost. Which gifts make sense for taxes these days? Consider your options. Before recent changes to the federal estate tax exemption amount (i.e.,…
Wills, health care directives, lists of passwords to online accounts. By now, most people know they should prepare these items — even if they haven’t yet — and make them available to trusted family members before the unthinkable, yet inevitable, happens. While getting estate planning items in order is more…
Schwab-Pomerantz and Cuthbertson, who is publishing director at Schwab, have put together a comprehensive guide that will help you plan for retirement. If you need to plan for your retirement, you may feel overwhelmed to even start the process. What steps do you need to take first? What type of…
On September 4, 2014, comedy icon Joan Rivers passed away. It's no secret that Rivers hoped for a funeral that rivaled her lifestyle: big and over the top. Craft services. Paparazzi. Meryl Streep crying in five different accents. These are just a few of the wishes the late Joan Rivers…
After nearly 20 years of litigation and fighting in the press, the conflict between the estates of Anna Nicole Smith and her billionaire husband J. Howard Marshall has been resolved. A celebrity estate battle that held center state in Houston gives us another valuable estate planning lesson. A recent WealthManagement.com…
In a decision issued September 30, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia agreed with AARP and told HUD to find a way to shield surviving spouses from foreclosure and eviction. A recent Elder Law Answers article, titled "Feds Move to Protect Some Surviving Spouses of Reverse Mortgage Holders,"…
As the Boomer Generation continues to re-write the rules, the call for redefining "retirement" is growing louder each year. Our parents referred to their retirement years as "The Golden Years." However, our generation demands a completely new definition for "retirement." We're not happy with a word that shares a meaning…
Death is emotionally difficult enough without discovering that you have no idea what digital assets a person had or what they wanted done with them. A growing concern among those wishing to properly manage their digital estate is "digital death," which questions what is an asset or special relationship—and how…